The technology relates to a stereoscopic distance measuring apparatus that measures a distance utilizing a stereoscopic camera mounted on an aircraft, a stereoscopic distance measuring method, and a computer readable medium having a stereoscopic distance measuring program.
Aircrafts generally utilize radar mounted on their airframes, in a measurement of a distance from the own aircraft to a predetermined target. But distance measuring apparatuses that send out radio waves, e.g., the radar, have a disadvantage that a position of the own aircraft may be detected by others.
For example, Japanese Patent (JP-B2) No. 4,328,551 makes a proposal for a distance measuring technique utilizing a stereoscopic camera mounted on an airframe. This technique does not involve sending out the radio waves. In addition, this technique makes it possible to acquire image information.
Moreover, the technique described in JP-B2 No. 4,328,551 includes detecting posture information of the airframe, and controlling a posture of the stereoscopic camera utilizing the posture information. This makes it possible to acquire images in a constant orientation, regardless of a posture of the airframe.